E188 Erica’s Court-Appointed Stranger

<p>Erica Loberg shares the story of her mom's <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e161-court-appointed-strangers/">court-appointed stranger</a>, and what she would to do differently to avoid a court-appointed conservator.</p> <p>Erica first shared <a href= "https://www.nextavenue.org/when-conservatorship-goes-terribly-wrong/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">her full story at NextAvenue.org</a>.</p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400">About Erica’s mom</span></h2> <p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-8748 size-large" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Mom-1030x666.jpg" alt="Erica's mom" width="1030" height="666" /></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">When all this happened, Erica's mom was 70 years old.  She was not diagnosed with dementia, technically. But for years Erica's dad had handled everything. So when he passed away, it created a vacuum for mom's care.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400">How did she end up with a court-appointed guardian?</span></h2> <p>Unfortunately, Erica's family was divided on how best to care for mom. So their uncle (mom's brother) stepped in and hired his own attorney. And that attorney recommended an independent, court-appointed conservator to have legal authority over Erica's mom.</p> <p>Once that lawyer got the ball rolling, there wasn't much discussion or debate. This was happening. And before they could get their bearings, Erica and her sisters were in court.</p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400">What was so bad about mom's court-appointed stranger?</span></h2> <p>First, he was a total stranger. Neither mom, nor Erica, nor any of the family members had ever met this person. And even after he received his court-appointment, he only met Erica's mom <em>once</em>.</p> <p>Second, Erica discovered that he had a history of complaints. She spoke with the families of several of his past conservatees, and they had one message: keep him away if you can!</p> <p>As for his actions:</p> <ul> <li>He isolated mom from her daughters</li> <li>He change